In a company blog post, the Oyster team wrote "We believe more than ever that the phone will be the primary reading device globally over the next decade…Looking forward, we feel this is best seized by taking on new opportunities to fully realize our vision for e-books. With that, we will be taking steps to sunset the existing Oyster service over the next several months."

The company is not closing its doors immediately, noting that subscribers can expect an email within the next few weeks about their accounts. Users can also submit a refund request via refunds@oysterbooks.

For $9.95 per month, Oyster Unlimited subscribers could choose from over 1 million books to read online, on a smartphone or tablet. Customers were also able to buy books from the Oyster store without a subscription. Oyster also ran an online lit magazine called The Oyster Review and made Lumin, a blue light filter for tablets and phones screens for bedtime reading.

The Oyster store launched in April, with offerings from major publishers Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, in an effort to boost revenue and compete with Amazon and other retailers. The app, however, is compatible with Apple and Android tablets and e-readers like Amazon's Kindle and Barnes and Noble's Nook.